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4 International Organizations Helping Single Mothers

Helping Single Mothers
Around the world, 13% of women are single mothers with children under 15-year-old, according to research. However, in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, there are 25% and 32% of single mothers, respectively. One direct consequence caused by single motherhood is child poverty and this correlation between child poverty and single mothers do not exist without reasons. For instance, since single mothers tend to have relatively lower incomes, their children are unlikely to receive complete education, limiting their career options. In turn, this makes the single mothers and their offspring more difficult to escape poverty, thereby forming a poverty cycle. Yet, some international organizations are helping single mothers by providing guidance and support, both mentally and financially. 

Littleones (Japan)

Among the 34 OECD countries, Japan has the highest poverty rate for single mothers. Approximately 48% of single-mother families have no more than 500,000 yen or $3,500 USD of savings. Despite the depressing figures, there is the NGO, Littleones, meaning “little children.” According to the organization, its objective is to support children in both big and small ways since “children are the hope of the future.”

Focusing on single families in Tokyo, Littleones helps needy families in three different ways. First, to organize social events such as hiking and Christmas parties, allowing mothers to build friendships and establish solidarity. Second, to advise mothers on issues including education, legal matters and employment opportunities. Third, to help those mothers to find suitable housing.

Empowering Young African Single Mothers (EYASM) (Cameroon)

In Cameroon, it is common to find many single mothers between their 20s and 30s. Single mothers live in poverty and the public also discriminates against them. However, the government has not done much to help single mothers. Therefore, Empowering Young African Single Mothers has taken the lead. Similar to Littleones, EYASM believes that “children of today are the leaders of tomorrow.” Such conviction leads the NGO to a series of objectives, for example, to help children break the poverty cycle and encourage single mothers to establish self-reliance, self-esteem and self-awareness.

One interesting project that EYASM did in 2020 was the Single Mothers Empowerment Contest, in which the top five winners received money as prizes. The purpose of this was to encourage single mothers to become entrepreneurs for livelihood. 

Korean Unwed Mothers Families Association (KUMFA) (South Korea)

The conventional social conceptions in Korean society make single mothers harder to sustain themselves and their families – the public perceives them as sexually promiscuous. Consequently, finding a stable job becomes a challenge for unwed mothers. Yet, the government does not provide sufficient financial support to them. According to the National Statistical Office and Bank of Korea, while the monthly income of the average Korean family was 4 million won in 2017 or $3,640 USD, only 200,000 won or $180 USD a month for single parents with an income of less than 1.55 million or $1,400 USD.

KUMFA aims to protect the maternal rights of single mothers and establish a support network for the mothers to exchange information. Moreover, the NGO also practically helps single mothers – providing shelter for them and their children.

Hong Kong Federation Of Women’s Centers (HKFWC)  (Hong Kong)

According to the government’s thematic report on single parents in 2016, Hong Kong had approximately 56,515 single mothers, with an average monthly income of 12,000 HKD or $1,520 USD.

Similar to other organizations, HKFWC understands the need to establish a community for single mothers. Calling the project “You’re Not Alone,” the organization matches volunteers with the same background as single mothers, forming a more personal relationship.

Looking Ahead

Overall, it is more challenging for children coming from single-parent households to break the poverty chain. However, international organizations are helping single mothers, changing the lives of many single-parent families.

– Mimosa Ngai
Photo: Wikipedia Commons

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Kangaroo Mother Care: A Newborn Care Technique

Newborn Care
In 2020 alone, about 2.4 million newborns died around the globe. But, one simple newborn care technique could help bring this number down. This type of infant care is kangaroo mother care.

About Kangaroo Mother Care

Kangaroo mother care describes a style of newborn care for preterm or low birth weight infants that maximizes skin-to-skin contact between the mother and her baby and emphasizes exclusive breastfeeding — an alternative to incubator care where infants and mothers are separated for most of the day. Mothers practicing kangaroo mother care typically spend more than 15 hours each day holding their infants in a way that allows for skin-to-skin contact.

Kangaroo mother care has many benefits. Research has shown that for infants with low birth weight, this type of care can improve body temperature regulation, decease chances of hypothermia, improve physiological stability, foster healthier sleeping patterns, decrease the chance of infection or illness, and, most notably, lead to a 40% drop in mortality when compared with conventional care using an incubator or infant warmer.

How Kangaroo Mother Care is Changing

A group of Colombian doctors developed kangaroo mother care in the 1970s as a way to care for premature infants in resource-scarce hospitals. Those doctors soon found that the practice led to an unexpected drop in neonatal mortality, a trend that years of subsequent research have confirmed.

Though the practice has been slowly gaining popularity over the past several decades, new research pointed to a simple change to the technique that could make it more effective. A 2021 study that the World Health Organization (WHO) organized found that starting kangaroo mother care immediately after birth, rather than waiting for the infant to first become stable, could make kangaroo mother care even more effective at reducing infant mortality.

The study collected data from participants in five low- and middle-income countries in Asia and Africa and compared patients who practiced immediate kangaroo mother care to those who waited for the infant to stabilize before initiating kangaroo mother care, the approach that the WHO currently recommends. Beginning kangaroo mother care without waiting for the baby to stabilize led to a 25% reduction in mortality beyond the mortality reduction already associated with traditional kangaroo mother care, the study found. The WHO estimates that implementing this earlier start to kangaroo mother care could save as many as 150,000 babies’ lives every year.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic

The pandemic has affected how medical professionals approach many aspects of health care, including newborn care. A survey published in March 2021 with 1,120 respondents from 62 mostly low- and middle-income countries demonstrated that neonatal health care providers were less likely to practice kangaroo mother care during the pandemic.

Of the survey respondents, two-thirds said that they would not allow a mother who had tested positive for COVID-19 to engage in kangaroo mother care and more than one in five said they would not permit the practice even if the mother had tested negative. More generally, 85% of providers reported regularly implementing the practice before the pandemic while only 55% of providers said they still implement the practice during the pandemic.

The Benefits Outweigh Risks

Despite the decrease in kangaroo mother care during the pandemic, a separate analysis demonstrated that, for low-birth-weight infants, the benefits of kangaroo mother care far outweighed the risks that COVID-19 posed. Even in a worst-case scenario where the transmission rate between infected mothers and their infants is 100%, the mortality reduction from the practice still outweighed the mortality risk from COVID-19 65-fold. In reality, the COVID-19 transmission rate is much lower than 100%, so the benefits that this model estimates are conservative.

Given the relatively low risk of COVID-19 when compared with the benefits of kangaroo mother care, educating mothers and health care providers globally on this reality could help save countless infants’ lives. Inadequate dissemination of information, however, is not the only barrier to practicing kangaroo mother care during the pandemic.

Fewer women are opting to give birth in hospitals due to fear of catching COVID-19 and resource-strapped hospitals are sending patients home earlier. The latest data from the Africa CDC indicates that only 18.3% of Africans have received full vaccinations to protect against COVID-19. Increased vaccine distribution has the potential not only to protect more Africans from infection but to improve access to infant health care, including kangaroo mother care.

While COVID-19 has become another obstacle on the path to ending infant mortality, new findings promise a straightforward and cost-free approach to improving low birth weight newborns’ outcomes. Simply starting kangaroo mother care a few days earlier could save tens of thousands more babies’ lives every year.

– Anna Inghram
Photo: Flickr

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Families Uplift Single Mothers in Africa

Families Uplift Single Mothers
Millions of women in Africa experience single motherhood as a result of widowhood or divorce. Single mothers often turn to their immediate and extended families for various forms of child care and parenting support. Families uplift single mothers in Africa by giving them the time and opportunities to develop careers while also raising their children. Parenting support from single mothers’ families can allow women to eventually support themselves and their children independently.

Single Motherhood in Africa

Widowhood and divorce often leave women in Africa to take care of their children without a partner. Single motherhood involves a variety of hardships, many of which are rooted in economic concerns. Women in Africa are commonly married off young before they have the opportunity to complete their education and develop a career. Some single mothers turn to prostitution or other dangerous forms of work to earn money and support their children.

Unemployment is vast in many African countries, especially for women. Widows, in particular, may face difficulties supporting their children because some families disown widows and do not consider women family members when their husbands die, according to SOS Children’s Villages. When a single mother is able to receive support from her family members, perhaps by moving in with them, she may gain the time and resources to find work and better support her children.

The Role of Family Support

When women in Africa experience widowhood or divorce, they often turn to their extended families for assistance in covering finances and child care. Single mothers who live in areas with struggling economies may be especially reliant on family support to raise their children. A research study on family support of single mothers in Nairobi, Kenya, found that the majority of women in the community receive some form of support from their family networks. However, the study found that the extent of a family’s support depended on family members’ age, employment status and geographic proximity to the single mother.

Family support of single mothers may be especially prominent in Africa due to widespread poverty and limited governmental resources to assist women who are raising their children alone. Families uplift single mothers in Africa by helping them raise their children, develop careers and escape poverty.

Next Steps in Uplifting Single Mothers

Families with single parents are disproportionately vulnerable to poverty. Women who raise their children without a partner’s support may struggle to find and maintain a job while juggling parental responsibilities. Single mothers’ families may provide some emotional and practical support, but additional governmental assistance is necessary to ensure the safety and success of single-parent families throughout Africa. Policies that promote financial security, social assistance and greater access to job opportunities can help empower single mothers in Africa, especially if women lack families to help them support their children.

In countries that lack governmental policies to assist single parents, family support uplifts single mothers and gives them the opportunity to gain financial independence. When families uplift single mothers with emotional, financial and practical assistance in child care, women may be able to seek out and maintain stable career opportunities. Further governmental action is necessary to support single mothers in Africa, but families can make substantial differences in the lives of single mothers and their children.

– Cleo Hudson
Photo: Flickr

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Fighting Neonatal Disorders in Tanzania

Neonatal disorders in TanzaniaIn Tanzania, neonatal disorders are the leading cause of death. Each year, 51,000 babies die within the first month. Nearly 66% of neonatal disorders in Tanzania are avoidable with proper access to essential care for both the child and mother. Recognizing this, Tanzania has plans in place to reduce both maternal and child mortality rates in the country.

Causes of Neonatal Deaths

The hospitals and pharmacies in Tanzania lack access to the proper equipment for cleaning, sterilization and treatment. Roughly 37% of pharmacies and 22% of health facilities do not have access to injectable antibiotics. Furthermore, about 60-80% of pharmacies and health facilities do not have resources for sterilization. In addition, 50% of health facilities do not have access to soap, water or hand sanitizer and 20% do not have disinfectant products.

This lack of resources has a significant impact on neonatal disorders in Tanzania. Infections are common among newborns and difficulties are frequent among mothers without proper attention and treatment in a sanitary medical facility. In Tanzania, asphyxia accounts for 22.3% of early neonatal deaths, respiratory distress accounts for 20.8%, preterm birth accounts for 12% and sepsis accounts for 11.6% of neonatal deaths. Furthermore, malaria, meningitis and pneumonia contribute to 7.4% of neonatal deaths. The added risk of maternal complications cause 8.6% of deaths among newborns.

How Poverty Impacts Care

Throughout the country of Tanzania, there are vast disparities in healthcare in different regions. This variance is because of varying economic development throughout the country. Areas that are more developed and advanced, with less poverty, can provide better assistance to patients because the areas have more resources to rely on. At the same time, mothers and children with improved chances of survival are able to economically contribute to decreasing poverty.

Tanzania aims to lower its neonatal mortality rate. Doing this will put the country at a lower risk of overpopulation and will reduce the 27.2% poverty rate, which affects hospitals’ abilities to care for and protect their patients. The health facilities cannot provide the necessary treatment, medical resources and medical staff without the necessary funds. Tanzania recognizes that an increase of neonatal deaths means the country will continue to struggle with poverty. The only way to address this is to focus on improving conditions for mothers and children.

One Plan II

Announced in 2016, the Tanzanian One Plan II places access to reproductive health services and reducing infant and maternal deaths as the priorities for the country. The ultimate objective of this plan is to improve the welfare and success of the country by improving neonatal healthcare. The original One Plan began in 2008 and established many of these same goals to be met by 2015.

The One Plan established the goal to lower the neonatal mortality rate to 19 out of 1,000 births by 2015, but this was not achieved. In 2015, neonatal mortality stood at 22%. However, there was progress in other areas as the number of women giving birth in the presence of a qualified professional increased from 43% in 2004 to 51% in 2010. At the same time, the number of women giving birth in proper health facilities also increased. In 2014, the maternal mortality rate was 574 deaths per 100,000 births.

A Hopeful Future

Since the start of the One Plan II and other similar plans, neonatal disorders in Tanzania have declined. The latest neonatal mortality rate is now 20 deaths per 1,000 live births. Additionally, the maternal death rate has continued to decline to 524 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2017. As the country makes this progress, it also hopes to see progress economically. Vaccinations, sanitization efforts and health facility progress allows Tanzania to not only improve survival rates but also fight the widespread poverty in the country.

– Delaney Gilmore
Photo: Flickr

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Spreading Awareness About Fistulas in Zambia

Spreading Awareness About Fistulas in ZambiaFistulas in Zambia are still a devastating problem for impoverished, young mothers despite being preventable. An obstetric fistula occurs when a mother endures prolonged (oftentimes up to five days long) labor in which obstruction occurs. This obstruction then cuts off the blood supply and causes tissue death. Tissue death leads to holes between the vagina and bladder or rectum. Without treatment, fistulas can mean a woman will “uncontrollably leak urine, stool or sometimes both” for a lifetime. The Fistula Foundation and other organizations seek to help women suffering from fistulas in Zambia.

The Cost of Fistula Surgery

The fistulas come with a myriad of infections and chronic pain and can even cause nerve damage to the legs. While fistulas in Zambia are completely preventable and treatable, there are significant barriers to care for mothers. The surgical costs range from $100-400, an expense that is often far higher than what the majority of patients can afford.

4 Factors That Increase the Risk of Fistulas

  1. Malnutrition: Persistent malnutrition is linked to the development of a smaller pelvis, which increases the risk of an obstructed delivery, potentially leading to the formation of a fistula.
  2. Child Marriage: Early motherhood means the narrower pelvises of underdeveloped girls make an obstructed delivery more likely.
  3. Lack of Education: When young women are pulled out of school for marriage and childbearing without proper knowledge about their bodies, the delivery process and their reproductive systems, health consequences ensue. A lack of proper reproductive health education leads to a lack of awareness about the preventability and treatability of fistulas.
  4. Poverty: Poverty augments the chance of food insecurity, younger marriage, childbearing and sacrificing a woman’s education for family duties. Even more importantly, poverty makes access to healthcare that much more difficult. Fistulas are also more prevalent in births that take place outside of medical facilities as women undergoing an obstructed delivery are unable to get a C-section or emergency medical assistance.

In wealthier countries that properly address these four issues, fistulas are virtually unheard of, showing that poor health outcomes and poverty are inextricably linked.

Stigmatization of Fistulas in Zambia

While the medical ramifications of fistulas are devastating, these consequences come in conjunction with complete social ostracization and shame. Husbands often view the typically stillborn births that come with fistulas as a failure of the mother. It is very common for husbands to shame and abandon their wives, labeling the woman’s medical issues as personal failures.

Doctors often do not adequately inform women with fistulas that they have a legitimate medical issue. The abandonment from their husbands is soon joined by the same treatment from family and friends. The isolation and stigma increase the risk of depression among women suffering from fistulas. Lack of proper awareness and education means fistulas have become a source of shame. Hence, many women suffer in silence for decades, even until death.

Spreading Awareness Through Radio

In 2017, the Fistula Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to providing impoverished young women with proper and free medical attention for fistulas, launched a radio program to educate communities about fistulas in Zambia. The program reached extensively into many provinces of Zambia and mobilized many women to seek proper medical care to repair their fistulas at the six Zambian fistula care centers the organization established to perform the reconstruction surgery for free.

In 2019 alone, the Fistula Foundation performed 319 fistula repair surgeries, all free of charge. In total, the Foundation has aided in the provision of 774 surgeries. The Fistula Foundation also partnered with the famous Zambian singer Wezi to air a song about the dangers of fistulas. The spread of this song, through both radio and CDs, has created a surge in Zambian women seeking treatment. As a direct result of Wezi’s song, 56 women have sought treatment.

Grassroots Activism

In conjunction with the awareness campaigns and Wezi’s song, the Fistula Foundation has encouraged grassroots movements like the Safe Motherhood Action Group (SMAG) to work with community volunteers to spread awareness to help prevent fistulas and end stigma. SMAG leads discussions within communities about the dangers of child marriage with regard to the increased rates of fistulas in young mothers, the necessity of keeping girls in school and the importance of delivering children in medical facilities. SMAG has implemented more than 3,000 community outreach programs, reaching more than 90,000 people with crucial information about fistulas and interconnected social issues.

The Fistula Foundation heavily relies on community leaders to spread the word, designating them the “entry points” to communities and change. The organization’s work highlights the importance of creative community engagement and education initiatives in promoting proper care and destigmatization of fistulas in Zambia.

– Jaya Patten
Photo: Flickr

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Aicha Chenna and Association Solidarité Feminine

Aicha ChennaAicha Chenna, nicknamed “the Moroccan Mother Teresa,” is an important figure in Moroccan society. She devoted her life to fighting for women’s rights. She highlights the issue of single mothers in particular, which many consider taboo in Morocco. Within the country, many regard having kids outside of wedlock as an act of ignominy and dishonor to the family and society as a whole. It receives so much stigma that it can also lead to jail in some cases. To combat this, Aicha Chenna devoted her life to aiding single mothers and helping them become independent women.

Aicha Chenna’s Beginning

The activist Aicha Chenna began her journey as a state nurse and a social worker in the 1960s. As an employee at the Ministry of Social Affairs, Aicha Chenna witnessed single mothers having to abandon their babies for adoption, sometimes against their will. Aicha Chenna recounted, “In my office sat a young woman who was nursing her baby. She was about to sign the adoption papers and took the baby away from her breast to do so. The little one screamed and cried. That was the moment when it clicked for me. I had just had a baby myself and had recently returned from maternity leave. That night, I couldn’t sleep. The story kept going around and around in my head.” It was then that Aicha Chenna vowed to help single mothers.

Association Solidarité Feminine

Aicha Chenna established Association Solidarité Feminine (ASF) in 1985 in Casablanca. The goal of the association is to stand in solidarity with single mothers. The organization aims to help unmarried mothers stay united with their children and be able to be part of society. ASF offers single mothers a place to stay, literacy classes and job training. Further, the association has now added therapy counseling, cuisine and pastries training, sewing and accounting classes, fitness services and medicinal training. All of these services include daily childcare options and legal support. In this way, these single mothers gain the ability and support needed to reenter society.

The organization started modestly with two kitchens and some kiosks to aid 12 mothers. Since then, ASF has expanded into three separate locations. The Ain Sebaa center in Casablanca has dedicated itself to mothers in need of mental and emotional support. It provides educational services as well, including literacy classes. After women complete six months at the center, they meet with a social worker and a psychologist to discuss work options and training, including the restaurant or spa industry.

Progress For Moroccan Mothers

The activist Aicha Chenna, the Moroccan Mother Teresa, made strides in Moroccan society. Both Chenna and ASF received recognition and support from the Moroccan royal family. As such, the family laws underwent modification in 2004. The new laws state that extramarital sex is no longer a crime. Additionally, there are now paternity tests and new developments regarding the legal handling of children born outside of marriage. Thanks to the efforts of this daring activist, the chains of the societal taboos broke. Chenna’s work has saved the lives of thousands of single mothers and their children. These empowered mothers and their kids are able to rise out of poverty, decrease the number of social pressures they carry and lead full lives.

– Zineb Williams
Photo: Flickr

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Canada’s Childcare Facilities Receive Support

Canada’s Childcare FacilitiesOn April 19, 2021, the Canadian Government announced a new budget that includes increased support for Canada’s childcare facilities. The proposed financial support would reduce the average cost of childcare, granting the greatest benefit to Canada’s most economically vulnerable families. Though arranged by the federal government, the changes were advocated for by several non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including Child Care Now.

Government Promises

The government’s commitment to increasing childcare affordability is part of a newly proposed budget written to address the economic ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The new budget would allot $30 billion to childcare spending over the next five years.

The goal of the sizable expenditure is to nationally reduce the cost of childcare to an average of just $10 per day by 2025. If passed, federal money would be used in conjunction with provincial funding to subsidize Canada’s childcare facilities, thereby lowering the cost to parents. A portion of the $30 billion would also go toward improving the quality and accessibility of Canada’s childcare facilities.

Presently, costs for childcare vary widely across Canada. In Quebec’s cities, the monthly cost of childcare is less than $200 due to an initiative passed in 1997 that standardized childcare costs. Outside of Quebec, the average monthly cost can range anywhere from $451 in Winnipeg to more than $1,500 in Toronto. The high prices are burdensome for all Canadians, but particularly so for the nation’s impoverished communities.

Child Care, Poverty and the Pandemic

Though not the pandemic’s most obvious impact, a lack of affordable childcare has strained Canada’s economy over the past year. Some of the strain stems from Canada’s childcare facilities and schools being closed to prevent the spread of the virus. As a result, many working parents, particularly mothers, have had to take care of children instead of working.

The pressure that the COVID-19 pandemic has put on women and mothers is reflected in Canada’s 2020 labor statistics, which show that women have exited the workforce at higher rates than men. In fact, the number of men in Canada’s workforce has increased by more than 60,000, while the female workforce has shrunk by at least 20,000.

Impact on Mothers

A large proportion of the women impacted by job losses are low-income mothers. A review of labor statistics found that among mothers ages 25 to 54 who had children younger than 12 years old, the mothers making less than $1,200 per week accounted for most jobs lost within that maternal demographic. Mothers in that group who made more than $1,200 per week actually increased representation in the workforce by almost 12%.

The same report also shows that mothers left the workforce at higher rates than other Canadian women in 2020. For instance, among women ages 25 to 54 who make between $500 and $799 per week, there was an almost 34% decrease in employment among mothers compared to a 21% decrease among women without children. This trend holds true for other earning brackets below $1,200.

While not all job loss among Canadian women can be attributed to maternal responsibilities, motherhood has clearly been a contributing factor for many women who have lost jobs during the pandemic. The fact is particularly true for low-income mothers who are least likely to have a job that will allow them to work from home. Without access to affordable childcare, mothers will continue to remain stuck between joblessness and caring for their children. The new Canadian budget and its advocates aim to solve this bind.

Child Care Now

One of the NGOs that gave support to the new budgetary spending on childcare was Child Care Now. Child Care Now is a Canadian nonprofit organization founded in 1982. The organization advocates for increased government spending on public and nonprofit childcare facilities. The nonprofit’s membership is made up of parents, childcare professionals and all parties concerned with the availability of accessible, affordable and safe childcare. Among the most pressing goals is the expansion of public childcare options throughout Canada.

On February 19, 2021, Child Care Now submitted a budgetary consultation to the Federal Ministry of Finance. In this consultation, Child Care Now made a case for increased federal spending on Canadian childcare, both in response to the impacts of COVID-19 and as an investment in the future of Canada’s childcare system.

Among the recommendations made by Child Care Now is the allotment of $2 billion in emergency spending to bolster Canada’s childcare facilities as well as the allocation of an additional $10 billion over the next three years to increase the access and affordability of public and nonprofit childcare options. When the government announced $30 billion in new spending on childcare, the response from Child Care Now was enthusiastic.

The Road Ahead

While the new budget still needs to be passed by the Canadian House of Commons, Canada’s investment in affordable childcare shows that the government is committed to the well-being of Canadian families. Should the budget pass into law, it will undoubtedly benefit the low-income mothers who have suffered the brunt of the pandemics’ economic hardships.

– Joseph Cavanagh
Photo: Flickr

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5 Inventions Saving Infant Lives All Over the World

Inventions Saving Infant LivesEven with the rapidly developing technology around today, giving birth and nursing are still some of the toughest experiences a mother can go through. Those experiences are, unfortunately, even tougher for mothers giving birth in developing countries. With fewer resources and more exposure to disease right out of the womb, developing countries have some of the highest mortality rates. Here is a list of five inventions saving infant lives worldwide.

5 Inventions Saving Infant Lives

  1. Neopenda: Neopenda is one of the inventions saving infant lives. It is a hat made for babies which helps monitor their vitals such as heart rate and breathing capacity. The company was founded in 2015 and was marketed for newborns in Uganda. The design was tested in Uganda since 2017 and was finally funded in 2019. Neopenda has since won multiple awards for its revolutionary concept and application.
  2. Khushi Baby: Khushi Baby is a digital necklace for newborns that can store all of their medical information at an inexpensive cost. Khushi Baby was designed as part of UNICEF’s Wearables for Good contest and won. The necklace, along with the mobile app, allows nurses to keep track of patient data that can get easily lost in their busy and often underfunded healthcare systems. The necklace has been lauded as an ingenious idea that helps to digitalize immunization records for babies. This helps ensure more accurate and faster readings. Khushi Baby is working with NGO Seva Mandir to run vaccination clinics in rural villages in India. The company has expressed interest in expanding to Africa and the Middle East as well.
  3. Solar Suitcase: Another one of the inventions saving infant lives is the Solar Suitcase. It is an invention designed by Dr. Laura Stachel. The suitcase is a miniature kit powered by solar energy from two panels which produces a light strong enough for child delivery for nearly 20 hours. The kit was inspired by a visit Dr. Satchel made to Nigeria in 2009. She witnessed multiple times power outages that could harm babies and mothers during birth. The kit was tested in Nigeria by Dr. Stachel herself and proven to be a huge success. Since then, her charity We Care Solar has been helping to decrease mortality rates in Africa, Central America and Asia.
  4. The Odon Device: The Odon Device is a plastic bag that inflates to help pull a newborn’s head during delivery. The Odon Device was developed by Jorge Odon, a car mechanic from Argentina and made into a prototype in 2013. Funded by the World Health Organization, the Odon Device is meant to save newborns and their mother’s lives by limiting complications during birth. The product was tested in Argentina and South Africa and achieved a success rate of over 70%.
  5. TermoTell: TermoTell is a bracelet designed to recognize malaria early on in newborn babies. Another design created for UNICEF’S Wearables for Good contest, TermoTell reads babies’ temperatures to safely detect malaria and alert the doctor. If a newborn has malaria, the bracelet will glow and send an alert to a doctor’s phone. The invention was targeted towards sub-Saharan Africa where malaria can cause the deaths of nearly a million children. TermoTell is still just a prototype. The invention is still in the process of improving the design for more accurate readings in the future.

These five designs are just a few of the inventions saving infant lives all around the world. Most inventions are aimed at larger developing countries to help decrease mortality rates. Sub-Saharan Africa still has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world with more than 50 deaths per 1,000 births while India has close to 30 deaths per 1,000 births. Inventions such as the five listed above have the potential to save thousands of lives and improve the mortality rate for many less developed countries whose mothers and infants have suffered for far too long.

– Hena Pejdah
Photo: Pixabay

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Maternal Healthcare in Algeria: 4 Facts Everyone Should Know

Maternal healthcare in Algeria
Algeria, a large country in North Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea. The country is known for its rich history and culture, as well as its scorching temperatures. Like many nations in Africa, Algeria struggles to combat maternal mortality – a long-standing, persistent issue for many women in the country. However, in the last several years, Algeria has taken numerous steps to expand maternal healthcare and reduce pregnancy and labor complications. Here are four facts about maternal healthcare in Algeria.

4 Facts About Maternal Healthcare in Algeria

  1. According to recent updates on the maternal mortality ratio in Algeria — it has gradually dropped from 179 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1998 to 112 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2017. Much of the success in lowering the number of deaths is attributed to a multitude of factors such as increased medical training, investments in healthcare and specific government initiatives aimed at reducing maternal deaths. During the years 2009–2017, Algeria trained about 900 professionals from university hospitals such as, Benni Messous, Kouba, Oran and Bab El Oued on multidisciplinary management of pregnancy.
  2. Within the last couple of years, Algeria has managed to make major investments in healthcare. Algeria managed to increase expenditures in healthcare as a share of GDP from 3.6 % in 2003 to 6.4 % in 2017 — growing at an average annual rate of 4.57%. This is an impressive number when compared with Algeria’s neighboring countries. Moreover, these investments have also helped to establish successful disease detection programs and allowed for improved medical facilities.
  3. In 2015, the Ministry of Health in Algeria began to work in collaboration with UNICEF in an attempt to implement a neonatal and maternal mortality reduction plan. This plan was implemented with the intention of reducing as many preventable, maternal deaths as possible, with a target of 50 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2019. Additionally, in 2016 the Ministry of Health put forward an emergency maternal mortality rate (MMR) reduction plan. “The goals set by the plan relate to strengthening family planning, improving the quality of healthcare during pregnancy, birth and postpartum.”
  4. In order to continue the reduction of the maternal mortality rate, the Health Ministry of Algeria held a survey to consolidate the maternal death rate with the technical and financial collaboration of the three U.N. agencies: (UNFPA, UNICEF and the WHO). The objectives of this survey were to reach a consensus on connections between frequent causes of maternal death, update the maternal death rate and cultivate reliable data “for the readjustment of national programs on maternal health and the reduction of preventable maternal deaths for the implementation of Algeria’s ICPD commitments.”

A Leader in Maternal Healthcare

Much work remains in order for Algeria to be able to effectively put an end to preventable, maternal deaths. However, the measures put into practice within the last several years have already proven to be a success. Thanks to these policies, Algeria has become known as a leader in maternal healthcare in North Africa and the country continues to build a strong momentum and infrastructure to fight this problem.

– Shreeya Sharma
Photo: Flickr

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5 Facts About Kenya’s Breast Milk Bank

Kenya's Breast Milk Bank

In April 2019, Kenya’s Ministry of Health launched Kenya’s first breast milk bank at the Pumwani Maternity Hospital in Nairobi. Given Nairobi’s high neonatal death rate of 38 deaths per every 1,000 live-births, the Ministry launched the bank as a pilot to test if it could reduce the neonatal mortality rate. 

Background

Kenya’s breast milk bank serves infants who are premature, malnourished, underweight or orphans that do not have access to their mother’s breast milk. PATH, like several other global health organizations, cites human milk as the greatest tool for child survival. Breast milk contains a dense number of nutrients and antibodies critical to human development. Therefore, PATH estimates that if children had access to universal breast milk, breast milk could save about 823,000 children’s lives under the age of 5.

Human milk banks are an alternative to ensuring that infants have consistent access to breast milk. At the time of the bank launch, Kenya’s Ministry of Health stated that if the bank was successful, the Ministry would open several more banks in the country. Here are 5 facts about Kenya’s breast milk bank.

5 Facts About Kenya’s Breast Milk Bank

  1. The Pumwani Maternity Hospital: The Technical Working Group selected Pumwani Maternity Hospital to host Kenya’s first breast milk bank because the hospital promotes kangaroo mother care– skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding–as part of its neonatal program. The hospital’s neonatal program caters specifically to preterm, underweight and malnourished infants.
  2. Mothers as Primary Milk Donors: Lactating managers from the Pumwani Maternity Hospital select mothers with more milk than their infant requires to donate it to the milk bank. The managers require mothers who agree to donate to undergo health and lifestyle screenings in order to ensure that they are viable candidates. The screenings include health and lifestyle questionnaires and laboratory blood tests. If lab workers identify alcohol, tobacco and drugs, HIV, Hepatitis B or C or Syphilis in a mother’s blood test, they will disqualify her from donating milk.
  3. Storing and Pasteurizing Donor Mother’s Milk: Mothers at the Pumwani Maternity Hospital donate their milk both naturally and with an electric pump. The hospital stores every mother’s milk separately in batches that contain codes for every mother. Once every batch volume reaches capacity, the hospital pasteurizes the batches to kill any bacteria or viruses in the milk.
  4. The Ministry of Health and Kenya’s Newborn Care Guidelines: Given that Kenyan infants now have access to breast milk due to Pumwani Maternity Hospital’s milk bank, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has added donated human milk to Kenya’s newborn care guidelines. These guidelines help to ensure that Kenyan infants receive the growth-development benefits from breast milk in order to increase their chances of survival.
  5. The Milk Bank’s Impact: As of October 2019, after six months since the MOH launched the bank, the Pumwani Maternity Hospital has delivered nutrient-rich breast milk from over 400 donors to 75 infants.

As stated in these 5 facts about Kenya’s breast milk bank, Kenya’s Pumwani Maternity Hospital is impacting the lives of numerous vulnerable infants. The Ministry of Health looks toward the hospital impacting an increasing number of infants and significantly reducing Kenya’s neonatal mortality rate.

– Niyat Ogbazghi
Photo: Flickr